Infamous by way of being extremely wicked.
[Latin nefārius, from nefās, crime, transgression : ne-, not + fās, divine law.]
nefariously ne·far'i·ous·ly adv.nefariousness ne·far'i·ous·ness n.
Dictionary:
ne·far·i·ous (nə-fâr'ē-əs) ![]() |
[Latin nefārius, from nefās, crime, transgression : ne-, not + fās, divine law.]
nefariously ne·far'i·ous·ly adv.| Word Overheard: nefarious |
In an ironic twist, contemporary Germans have been rejecting the Nazi legacy by lowering their birthrates (the Nazis had awarded women who bore numerous children a Cross of Honor and a certificate signed by Hitler, while exterminating millions of Jews and other "undesirables"):
"The number of Germans has declined by 3.2 million — the population of Berlin — over the last 30 years but demographers' concerns have mostly been ignored until now in a country scarred by the Nazis' nefarious procreation pressures."
Link: German leaders wake up to shrinking population
Posted January 26, 2006.
See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.
| Thesaurus: nefarious |
adjective
| Antonyms: nefarious |
Definition: bad, sinful
Antonyms: admirable, good, honorable, respectable, virtuous, worthy
| Word Tutor: nefarious |
A crowd gathered around the wanted poster of the nefarious criminal.
| Translations: Nefarious |
Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skændig, nedrig, gudløs
Nederlands (Dutch)
snood, goddeloos
Français (French)
adj. - abominable
Deutsch (German)
adj. - ruchlos
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - κακός, κακόβουλος
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - nefando
Español (Spanish)
adj. - vil, malvado
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - skändlig, nedrig, gudlös
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
邪恶的, 穷凶极恶的
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 邪惡的, 窮兇極惡的
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不法な, 不埒な, 邪悪な
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) شرير, شائن
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - רע, נבזה, נפשע
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![]() | Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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